The United States and other leaders of the Group of Seven called for the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and peaceful protesters from prison.
The group condemned the detention of the individuals and warned Russia to reverse course.
“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in condemning the politically motivated arrest and detention of Alexey Navalny,” said the Tuesday statement released by the U.S. State Department. “We are also deeply concerned by the detention of thousands of peaceful protesters and journalists, and call upon Russia to adhere to its national and international obligations and release those detained arbitrarily for exercising their right of peaceful assembly on 23 January.”
Navalny was poisoned in August with what German investigators later determined to be a Novichok-class nerve agent. The U.S. and other members of the global community have pointed to the Russian government as being responsible for the incident. Navalny returned to Russia on Jan. 17 and, upon his arrival, was immediately detained.
Protests have taken place throughout Russia following his detention, and many demonstrators have been arrested.
The group concluded, “We will continue to monitor closely Russia’s response to international calls for the immediate release of Mr Navalny and any protesters and journalists who have been detained arbitrarily, as well as a criminal investigation into Mr Navalny’s poisoning.”
Russia was expelled from the G-7, then known as the G-8, in 2014 after it annexed Crimea. Since then, the nation has expressed its desire to rejoin the group, a move former President Donald Trump was in favor of.
